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- [00:01]
A
Welcome to Scottish Watches Podcast. Well, it's the festive period. It's the festive season. It's a time to be jolly. And before that jolly fella empties his sacks down your chimney stack, it's time to check in with Dave and see how he's getting on.
- [00:11]
B
I will not be emptying my sacks down your chimneys. Well, unless you ask very nicely. Ho, ho, ho, Baham bug is what I say to December. But anyway, I'm just a miserable sob, but, you know, well, what more can you say?
- [00:24]
A
Time to catch up with the latest, the greatest. All the news coming out of Switzerland and other parts of the globe when it comes to watches and watchmaking. Well, it turns out the guys at Mose are back in black, baby.
- [00:33]
B
Yes, it does, because they've done something. Well, not completely new, but it's almost like they've taken a few different things that they've done in the past and kind of put them together. So what we've got here is the streamliner Genesis 2 in Vantablack.
- [00:47]
A
Is it the Phil Collins edition or the Peter Gabriel?
- [00:50]
B
Don't know whether either of them are kind of ideal examples to compare against, but it's like a little bit of Smash It Together.
- [00:57]
A
Is it a Band Aid Live Aid Crispus combo medley where you take all the best parts for everything and crush it together and create a number one.
- [01:03]
B
Hit Also that be confusing because a Band Aid in America is a plaster in Europe. But anyway, yes, we'll go with yes. What are we talking about? It's a streamliner. That watch, you will know. Well, Ricky has one, I have one. We love them. It's probably one of the most popular contemporary designs from the House of Mozar. You've got the Genesis project they've done where they did some, well, slightly crazy stuff that had to do with, you know, QR codes and some of that dodgy art stuff that was very valuable and suddenly is completely invaluable. And also Vantablack, the material that is the most blackest material known to humanity.
- [01:35]
A
Apart from my wife's heart.
- [01:36]
B
Well, your wife's heart, your heart, my heart, most people that we know's heart, probably together, is worse than Vantablack, but it's brought all those things together. Now, Moserra brand, who are, I think it's fair to be described as a little bit edgy, a little bit experimental, and a little bit tongue in cheek with some of the things they do. The Swiss Alp watch, which is a bit of a nod to the Apple Watch, of course, they've done the Perpetual Calendar for Dummies, which was like a take on the Book of Computing for Dummies. You had the Genesis project and a multitude of other weird and wonderful projects that they've done. Now what is Genesis?
- [02:09]
A
It's what they called the Sega Mega Drive in America due to trademark and copyrights.
- [02:13]
B
Okay, let's go with that. So, yes, back to the days of that original Genesis. What you had the QR code, it took you to a digital platform where you could look at, yes, that word NFT images. They were a thing apparently at some point in time. But yes, took you to NFT images that you could look about that were associated with the product itself. And you had this digital world that you could kind of coexist in as well. Well, NFT seem to have kind of, I think gone off the boil would be a bit of an understatement, but they' seem to be a thing of the past. But we've got this third watch in the trilogy coming along. Now, what they are describing it as is exploring the prevailing themes of human society and communication. Now, I think that's quite a nice way of saying we kind of got into something that was really cool and then it decided to not be really cool. So we're going to round out by describing what went on during the period of humanity that will probably not go down as one of its best moments. But anyway, what is the watch itself, I actually really like it. The case itself, pretty much standard 40 millimeter streamliner. Everything you would expect from the centre second streamliner watch. It's in stainless steel again, exactly as you would expect. You've got that integrated bracelet that in my opinion absolutely makes the watch. But you've got a pixelated titanium crown very much like the watch that was the forebearer to this, the fully pixelated model. The hours and the minute tracks float above a completely black vantablack dial. Now, the Official figure is 99.965% of light is absorbed by this material, which makes it darker than a dark thing. That's very dark. The calibre in There is the HMC203 automatic calibre. You've got three days of power reserve. You've got a skeletonised rose gold rotor in there. And this watch is limited to 100 pieces. But hold your horses. It's not even as easy as hoping to get one of the hundred pieces. You will only get it via invitation. The original 50 customers that got one of the original pixelated watches will be given an invitation to see if they wish to buy one. If they do, they can then nominate a other person, friend, colleague, whoever to buy one of the other 50 watches as well. So that's how they're ultimately hoping to get these hundred pieces out into the world. It will very much become a desired after collector's model. This one of all of that series of watches is by far and away the best. I quite like that little nod with the crown. It's a little bit cheeky. It's quite interesting price point. Not totally insane for a Vantablack watch. 29,900 Swiss francs which in UK terms is around the 28,000 pound mark. Looks awesome. Love it. Do I prefer it outright to a straight regular streamliner? If it had the normal crown on it versus this crown with the vantablack dial, I think I might actually take the pixelated one.
- [04:55]
A
Love the streamliner. One of my favourite watches. I remember when you got yours and I was like that is something else. And the story that you told back in the day of how you managed to actually acquire it was pretty. Is he good? So any long term listeners should remember that story. Afternoon you upset go through the back catalogue. 730 plus editions of the show. Never missed an episode. Yeah, there may be a day late here and there, but we never miss an issue and we always get two per week, especially over the festive period. Tons of stuff to catch up on there. And this is a good opportunity to mention the show notes. Click your link in your podcast player takes you to our website. You can see the pictures, the tech spec, all the good stuff in a chronological order thanks to Mizziel. Excuse the spelling mistakes, he's not quite up on that lingo just yet, even though he's been working with us for over five years. This Moser, I love it. I love the Vantablack model they brought out previously. It was one of my star video clips maybe two, three years ago at Geneva watch days when they had it on display in the auditorium, the large big marquee tent and people were just transfixed And I got a video clip that showed it off perfectly because it panned slightly from the right to the left and as it moved round it looked as if they were just a pair of hands floating in midair. And then you saw the watch appearing out of nowhere. It's a fantastic technology. The only thing that mars it slightly is the fact that you have to have a sapphire crystal over the front. And no matter how many dollops of anti reflective Coating you put on the inside or the outside, that is always going to be the bugbear. That will be the thing that detracts ever so slightly. But the watch itself, magnificent. Looking at it straight on with no lights hitting the front of the watch, you can see for miles. It is so deep. And if you've ever seen Vantablack out in the open on anything, a product, a T shirt, a BMW X6 even, you'll know that it just plays with your mind. You just can't fathom what is going on in front of you. It's like being in an anechoic chamber for your eyes. But anyway, I digress and it's time to talk about things a little bit closer to home here in the uk. And Rich and the folks at Studio Underdog, they have been busy boys. They've been creating this and the other. They were recently over in Dubai helping Dave and myself conjure up watch faces based on the O1, the O2 series and potentially the O3. But they're back on Terraforma here in the British Isles and they've got some news coming down the line.
- [07:03]
B
Now, there is another business in the UK called Horologium and they are a manufacturing partner. They are a watchmaking business that helps lots of different brands out there bring their product together and into the real world. Once the brand has decided on their designs, logos and everything else that comes with designing a watch and have sourced everything, these guys actually will put the watch physically together and make a real world project.
- [07:30]
A
And what are the benefits of doing that versus then getting say, somebody in a far off place to put it all together for you?
- [07:36]
B
What you've got here is a group of guys that are all trained watchmakers and of course they're based in the uk, so you've got a short chain, supply chain setup, they're nearby, you can go and visit them if they're based in the UK and you get to of course put assembled in Great Britain, assembled in the United Kingdom, however you decide to word it on your watches, which all lays into what many of the British brands, especially all the brands that are part of the alliance of British watch and clockmakers, are wanting to do bring more watchmaking back to the uk. So this business was established a couple of years back in the UK and as I mentioned, have been working with many brands out there. They're also an official service point for brands that we talk about, folk like Formex. But Rich Benz and the team at Studio Underdog are probably their biggest actually, probably is the wrong word. They are definitely their biggest customer because of course Rich is putting many, many volumes of his Studio Underdogs watches out into the marketplace. Now what he wants to do is ensure his supply chain and his complete ecosystem is up to date, under control and established and has good roots. And he did a few years ago take a minority stake in this business to ensure that. But he's made a decision within the last two weeks to actually go all in and buy out the entire business. So Rich and Studio Underdog now own the complete entity that is Horologium. That of course completely guarantees his supply chain his ability to produce many watches and put them out into customers hands and do it as efficiently as possible. It does of course also give him lots of other areas that he can expand his business in. Now he has many other brands that are his clients because they are using Horology. He has got an after market watch service center for many brands out there. So it is the expansion and diversification of Studio Underdog as a business. I think it is a shrewd, clever business move from Rich. Someone who has over the last few years really got his head into business and as fully way as possible from something that was a bedroom business. A bit of fun, see what happens. It's really gone places and Rich has doubled down to make sure that he is fully up to speed and professionally able to run all of these businesses as well. And Horologio was founded back in 2020, so not that long after Rich got up and going with his brand as well. I think They've got around 45 independent and micro brand watchmakers currently on their books as well. Everything from conception, assembly, service, repairs. But Studio Underdog have accounted for around 90% of the revenue. So I think just seeing that alone tells you why Rich was probably keen to get in there and make sure that this business was completely stable and able to do exactly what he wants it to do. Numbers wise they've prod producing something in the region of 1000-1200 studio underdogs a month. And that is on top of course everything else that they're doing as well. So seems Rich has got himself another very established business and I'm sure he will bring his magic touch to it and make it all even and bigger and better.
- [10:36]
A
Nell, actually got a chance to speak there. That's amazing. No, Dave was on a bit of a roll there. I'll let him carry on. I did not interject or interrupt. I'm a good boy. It's a festive period. I'M in the spirit of things and not the Scrooge kind of spirit of things. Yeah, well done to me. Gold star. Good boy. Doggy biscuit. What do I think of all this? I think it's great. And the reason I gave Dave this off ball question, acting like the village idiot that I am, is because that is the whole point. Especially if you're here in the uk, when you get movements, when you get things created in far flung places, being careful with my geography, sometimes, sometimes the stuff arrives and it's not exactly as was promised. It doesn't matter if you have been buying for years, decades, etc, etc, there's always a chance that something may go awry or it may get damaged in shipping, a box may get dropped or something may happen on its international transit when it arrives here in the uk. A watch that is within cost could definitely be messed up. So the fact that everything appears here in boxes, separate, and these guys were the folks who are trained, they're the professionals, they're the ones that put it together, test it, regulate it and then they send it on the last leg of its journey, that is the whole point of them and the way that they integrate stuff and they QC it. Everything is quality assured from start to finish. We've not had any problems, touch wood, from any of the brands that deal with these guys. And now that Rich has taken over things, it can only mean even bigger and better things ahead for them. So well done for that and it's well done for creating an alliance collaboration with Christopher ward called the O2 pocket watch. Now tell us about this one.
- [12:05]
B
Do I get to go on a ramble or are you going to want to interject at any point in this?
- [12:09]
A
Well, what I was thinking of doing was going for my supper and well, I have that. I'll wake up in the morning, get my breakfast, maybe have a number one or number two and you'll be done and I'll carry on.
- [12:18]
B
Okay, It's a pocket watch. It's Christopher Ward at Studio Underdog. It's called Number two. It's great.
- [12:22]
A
Is it based on Austin Powers?
- [12:24]
B
Is it based on Austin Powers? I don't think it's based in Austin Powers. Number two.
- [12:28]
A
Did you get your joke?
- [12:29]
B
No, I'm pretending to ignore you whilst actually ignoring you. But yes, the Alignzo one, which of course the Alignzo two is the follow up to, was the original collaborative watch which was done between Christopher Ward and our friends at Fiers. And that was a watch that was based on the jumping hour watch that they Put out there where both of them took each other, others rolls over in a kind of role reversal way and brought that out to great success. All of the money, of course, from these watches goes back to the alliance of British Watch and Clockmakers because it's a non profit entity and they do of course, need some money to allow themselves to operate. What they do is they stand.
- [13:05]
A
I'm going to interject, Dave, I'm going to interject. I'm going to tell you stuff. I'm going to tell you stuff. So, yeah, the British alliance of Watch and Clock Makers, that may not be exactly how you pronounce it. It may have those words in a slightly different order. They are non profit. They do not charge any membership fees to the trade organizations that are involved in it. And they do all this marketing, promotion. They let you guys know about new watches, new developments. They take things to the government, not just here in the uk, but they travel all across the world in different trade envoys speaking to these people, those people. It could be Hong Kong, it could be out in Dubai, it could be across America, it could be over in Brussels, it could be anything. And this is all funded by what happens within the group. If you're a member, as in a person like myself or Dave, who's not a watchmaker or a brand, then who will pay an entry fee to become normal members? But for that, you obviously get the magazine, you get digital copies of this, you get free tickets to shows. The membership fee pales into insignificance when you look at everything that's there and all the brands that are in the alliance. Here's one for you guys listening at home. Get behind what these folks are doing. See if you can do something similar. It may not be a collaborative watch, it may not be a percentage of sales, but pay it back because they've been doing a brilliant job for over five years now. And we were speaking to Roger Smith over in Dubai about lots of stuff to do with the alliance, five years of progress and how the industry has grown dramatically even with the downturn the last couple of years. So brands, just something to keep in mind. Carry on, Dave.
- [14:26]
B
Yes, and I should also interject on myself into Ricky to say you don't need to be British to join either. You can be from anywhere in the world. I know that there are many people in the United States that are members, but you can absolutely be a member anywhere else and get the vast majority, if not all of the benefits. The only things that might be a bit tricky is sending out physical Magazines to some locations in the world. But you always also also get a digital copy as well. So definitely worth being part of it because you get access to cool things like this watch. Now that aligns 01. That was the burgundy dial jump hour Brunswick, which the guys kind of did a swap role reversal in different design aspects of the watch. And it sold out to much success during the last British Watchmakers day. And for this year, end of 2025 into 2026, we have the Alliance O2. Now what have we got here? Well, it's a 44 millimeter steel case. Sounds big already. I know what you're thinking, but you have to wait. It's based on Christopher Ward's light catcher design, one of their more modern kind of up to date case designs that people seemingly very much have caught on board with. But of course it's a pocket watch, so 44 millimeter does make it a reasonably compact size for a pocket watch. You've got the carrying loop on there at the crown above the 12 o' clock position. And to that you can attach a braided leather strap if you want to carry around either around your neck as some kind of adornment necklace type accoutrement or of course you can wear it in the pocket. But there's also a small bamboo stand that will allow you to double it up as a small desk clock.
- [15:53]
A
Desk clock. Oh, that reminds me of Hodinkee and their travel clock. Remember that? Remember that $7,000 monstrosity?
- [16:00]
B
Yes. And this is not $7,000, but we'll get to that. And I think unlike that $7,000, that quote sold out. I think this one actually will sell out. They sound the same, but they're definitely a different thing. Anyway, back to that. The dial, that's where rich and studio underdog of course completely come in. That is their domain. That's where they're well known for things. And their O2 series field watch, they've got this design with the kind of floating layer of sapphire. So in this one you've got yellow and oranges and you've got a Lume base that's below a layer of sapphire and it's the thickest layer of sapphire they've used yet. At 1.4 millimeters you've got the Roman numeral hour markers and the minute scale that's printed on it. On. And of course you get this ethereal floating appearance as well. It's a five day power reserve indicator on the sub dial that's positioned below that at six o' clock you've got the exhibition case back and that of course gives the movement full visibility. It's the CW0001 which was formerly known as the SH21. That being their in house movement. It's manual winding. It's got 120 hours of power reserve and the price, well, £2,995. So £3,000 for all intents and purposes. 100 pieces of this and it's an exclusive. You can only try and get your hands on one of these hundred if you are a member of the British alliance of Watch and Clock Makers. They go on sale at 3pm UK time on December 11. You have to have registered though. As well as being a member of the alliance you have to go on to the website and register your interest so that you can get in there. They can validate that you are a valid person who's going to try and buy one of these. All sales go towards, of course, as we mentioned, supporting the alliance. Great. Cause the show happens every springtime. It's absolutely amazing. The dates are out there already. Can't remember them exactly off the top of my head but check out show notes and Mziel will misspell but get the dates correct in the show notes.
- [17:52]
A
It's the Saturday after the 5th of March so I think it may be around about the 8th of March ish. Whatever. The closest Saturday is to the 8th of March next year. That's when it is and I'll definitely be there.
- [18:02]
B
I'd suggest checking out the show notes because what'll happen is he'll copy and paste it. Hopefully he'll copy and paste the right stuff. But yes, they'll be there or of course you can.
- [18:10]
A
Did we not get a press release today that said we've got an embargo on something we can't talk about in this show because the embargo date is November 2025?
- [18:17]
B
Well, I think it actually said December 11th of December and then immediately under said the 11th of November which was somewhat confusing and the November one was bigger which made me fear that that's the bit that everyone will read. And actually I went and did something proper. I informed them that they may have confused some people and they've resent it out hoping that everybody noticed. And embargoes are two things that don't generally go together.
- [18:40]
A
Did you claim credit for that one, Dave? Even though it was me that spotted it?
- [18:43]
B
It was me that spotted it and told you?
- [18:44]
A
No, you read it out and thought it was fine and I went here that says November that was last month.
- [18:49]
B
You said November, but then.
- [18:50]
A
Stolen valor. Stolen valor, yes.
- [18:52]
B
Stolen valor. Stolen valor. You get stolen valor? Yeah. Did you tell them? No, you didn't. You wanted to break the embargo, didn't you?
- [18:58]
A
I did, actually. I messaged. I'm not going to say. Oh, nearly said who it was and dropped him initially. Anyway, carry on about this cool watch that people make at their hand.
- [19:04]
B
Anyway, that's all about that watch. And what you need to do, of course, is if you have 3,000, burn a hole in your pocket. You like pocket watches. You like the idea of this. You like, of course, to support everything about British watchmaking, then you should go and make sure you're registered so that you have at least half a chance of getting in to get one of these 100 when they go on sale on December 11th. Anyway, Ricky, we should move along because we have a few things to cover. Talking of pocket watches.
- [19:27]
A
But before we do that, there's a good chance this episode will not appear on video. We've had some technical gremlins, plus Gav has got the second edition of Erdo by Watch Week coverage, which we really want to push you onto video because we captured so much across there.
- [19:39]
B
Anyway, anyway, more to do with pocket watches. And this is a Sotheby sale which featured an Audemars Piguet gross piece. And it is, well, not just broken completely and utterly smashed the record so far of what one of these watches has ever got in terms of how much money it's raised at auction. A mere US$7.736 million, which is around $5 million more than the next highest price ever achieved by an AP outside of some weird and wonderful crazy charity price, which of course isn't exactly the real world because people are really throwing money at a charitable cause. But for a regular run of the mill auction, this one has gone absolutely off the charts. It was estimated to go for a lot of money, somewhere between half and US$1 million, which is by no means any chump change. But there was lots of things also up for sale over the last weekend as well. There was a record price set for Francis Ford Coppola's personal FP Journe.
- [20:42]
A
That was the fingering watch, wasn't it?
- [20:44]
B
The fingering watch, yes, it was very fingery. It was just under US$11 million that went up for sale at Philips New York Watch auction last Saturday. This was one of AP's Universelles, the most complicated wristwatch from the brand in the era. Only pocket watch of the time made with A celestial complication and believed to be the only known watch with a tour be on from them from this period as well. The previous record was around 5.2 million for a one of one Black Panther concept watch, but that was of course at a charity auction. So that's enough about pocket watches. We should now talk about some completely, utterly and hideous Casio G Shock that's got something to do with some anime that frankly, I don't really care about.
- [21:28]
A
Not the way I thought Dave would take this forward. Being a big G Shock fan, he promises to actually come over here and show me five of his little not baby GS, but micro GS, the little ring watch watches that Casio decided to release this year after the success of the normal Casio variants. But we've not talked about G Shock in a while, so I thought I would right that wrong. And just because this thing may look hideous to Dave, and perhaps it's not exactly the kind of thing I would spend my own hard earned cash on, there are other people out there that have different tastes. Not better, not worse, just different. And this is to celebrate 30 years of a certain anime series. I'm not big in anime. I never get into Akira. I never get into any of that kind of stuff. But I know a lot of people did, especially the younger generation. In fact, the younger generation sometimes get tattoos of certain anime characters. Not pointing any elbows there at all, Dave, but tell us more about this, what you call grotesque lump for the wrist.
- [22:18]
B
You need to check the show notes out and you can of course decide for yourself as to whether it is truly grotesque. It's certainly not for the faint of heart. Well, what is this? This is the GA110 EVA37A. Now there is a mouthful of a.
- [22:32]
A
Watch name that sounds like the private key to my bitcoin wallet.
- [22:35]
B
Oh, and how many not bitcoins have you got in there?
- [22:38]
A
Oh, it's taken about a tumble and thankfully I don't have much in the way of crypto. I have got practically bugger all and I'm still quids in. So it's fine. But yeah, oofed bitcoin. Not great in the last couple of months. Carry on, Dave.
- [22:48]
B
Cheeky. Cheeky. So, yes, the 30th anniversary of the Evangelion anime series. Now, if you're unfamiliar with it, there's a couple. There's the neon Genesis variant of it, and there's the larger wider series as well. But this special edition G Shock is a little bit wild. It looks like someone's gone mad with a set of cranes, a blindfold, and no idea what they're actually doing as well. But apparently fans of this anime are going to appreciate the close relationship between the Japanese watchmaker and the original mechanical artist designer of that series, that being Mr. Ayuto Yashimita.
- [23:22]
A
Are you sure that's how you pronounce it? Because I read that slightly differently.
- [23:26]
B
Mr. Aikuto Yamashita. Yamashita is it? I don't think you say it. I don't think you say shit.
- [23:34]
A
Okay.
- [23:35]
B
Apparently it's not a strictly numbered series, but it's going to be limited in production, likely by the fact that it's the 30th anniversary in 2025. I would suggest that after the end this year, they will probably stop producing it as well.
- [23:48]
A
Well, if there's ever a guy who should release a watch called the Number two, it's this guy, I think maybe the Shita. I used to love it when I was a kid and I heard about the parent company Titanics and Panasonic and national, and that was Matsushita. I thought that was amazing. I'm totally derailing this because not doing video.
- [24:04]
B
We're definitely in Scottish colloquialisms here. But anyway, the watch itself, it's based on the G shock GA110, that being one of the more basic models within the G Shock range. This is going to come in at around double the price of which you can buy a fairly neutral black colour GA110, around the US$300 mark. Colors wise. Well, you've got purple, black, red, green, bit of blue in there as well. And apparently it's based around an EVA unit 01, some kind of robot hybrid machine that's piloted by a person. It's pretty light, 72 grams. It's pretty chunky. It's 51.2 millimeters by near 17 millimeters thick. It's 55 millimeters lug to lug. It will go down to 200 meters. And of course it's got the 5146 module, an electronic quartz movement in there as well, if you like it. If you're into anime, this may be your thing for me. No, it's not. I love G shocks, but I like like to at least have a little bit of association with our specials in terms of what it's all about. And anime is not for me.
- [25:02]
A
Well, that's fair enough, Dave. I don't really particularly like this one myself, but you know what? We've got to do things for Other people sometimes and it is the giving mood, it's the festive period and it's time to give you the wrist check and Dave likes to come second so I'm going to go first. And this is a watch we get sent in from. It took a while to get here. There have been some complications as they would say with FedEx here in Scotland for some unknown reason. New, brand new rgmt. I can only think that means regiment. And this is called the Marksman GMT Automatic. They sent us across. It is a fairly chunky number. It has got lots of things that have been going around in the watchmaking sphere for the past few years. I would say if you think of things like the Tissot PRX, the Vacheron Triple 2, that kind of case shape, a little bit Antarctic from the likes of Czapek. But then you look in the dial and this is military, military, military all the way through. It's got army greens, it's got a hint of of orange and yellow in there. It's got a sector arrangement. Then it's got a standard minute track. Then it's got an inner rotating bezel and a bezel fixed to the outside. You can do this, that and the other on it. You can track multiple time zones. Very, very military inspired. But the best thing about it is the price point. You'd think because this is automatic, it's got a decent little Japanese movement inside from Seiko, that it'd be quite expensive but it isn't. This is a budget friendly banger for Christmas. A good present for yourself or a love to one or someone you don't even like because it's only £420 UK convert that to the denomination in your locale. But yeah, I'm actually quite impressed with this one. It comes in a rather funky carry case that has got a pseudo carbon look to it. Details on it include the case size being not gargantuan but fairly chunky at 44 mil case thickness of 14.5. It's got an anti reflective coating on the sapphire crystal on the front and the rear and 200 meters of water resistant party tricks with this one. Well, if you look at the side of it and you'll have to look in the show notes to see what I'm talking about. Depending on the coloration of the dial and the bezel that you decide upon, it will have an anodized not crown guard because it doesn't really protect much but a bit of trim on the side on the outer flank. On the Right hand side. It's a chunky little monkey. But if that is your deal and you like that kind of thing, then this is definitely one to check out. And this brand appears to be on the up and up because they've got a few more things coming down the line that are embargoed at the moment. Moment we'll bring you lots of information as and when we're allowed to. Dave, have you actually seen this one before?
- [27:26]
B
No, I have not. It is pretty cool when you see the dial. I'm very much into dial. It's definitely got that military esque kind of vibe about it as well. Looks like some of the chunkier watches from the likes of Citizen. That's kind of got that vibe about it a little bit as well. Maybe for some of the more military esque watches from the 60s and 70s as well. Slightly faux ish patina kind of going on there. Size wise it is definitely not for the faint of heart part. If you like a bigger watch, this is probably going to be all about it. But at the price point, good value, lots of spec on there as well and a nice alternative to many of the high street options that are out there for similar money.
- [28:01]
A
This price point, there's nothing to hate and tons to love. Looking a little bit closer. It's got a color matched date disc. Can you believe it? Yes, yes, yes. If I was to think of something that it definitely reminded me of, looking through the dial, looking at the stencil font they've used, it's definitely mash, it's definitely the A team, something like that. So yeah, if you're looking for a little Christmas stock and filler for yourself or for somebody else, this could definitely be the one to check out. Details will be in the show notes. Lots of different colorways available. Green end your vibe. Then there are orange ones, blue ones, red ones and all kinds of different colorways. So definitely do check that one out. And it's time to find out what Dave's got in the rest of the day.
- [28:36]
B
David's also got something that's at the budget end, albeit not available anymore and also features a Japanese movement. So yes, what David has here is a watch from a Glasgow brand, a brand that sadly no longer exists. This is Instrument Applied Design. They did this watch along with some furniture and a few other pieces of coolness, like the coolest umbrella that cannot be blown inside out. But they did this as a little 38 millimeter field watch. You can see the naming on there. But this was a collaborative one. They did with one of my favorite clothing brands, that being folk clothing, features a solar powered Japanese movement in there. It's got the date, it's got a coloured matched date disc as well. Ricky Albeit. It's a black dial with a black disc. So it's not the hardest thing to get colour matched. Very clear, very legible, solar powered. It sat on the windowsill over the summer for a month or so to get it fully charged up. So it survives the deep, dark, dankest winters that we have in Scotland. It's a dual position crown, very clean design and it is a push through NATO style strap. So there we go. It's a fixed lug. Fixed. A fixed lug bar design on there as well, like you maybe get from something like Tudor or Omega. And all the engravings on the back there, you can see the mark from the leather where I've been wearing it. 50 meters of water resistance and you have all the information. 316L stainless steel, 38 millimeters. And a Japanese solar movement with a little engraving there to signify. It's the folk clothing collaborative design watch as well. Yep. Something I wear quite often actually, when I'm just stotting about. Very easy to wear watch. Of course, with it being solar, you just need to make sure it's charged up before we get into the winter, winter months, or else it'll stop running and you need to sit it on top of a torch for many hours to get it running again. So that is what I've been wearing. Check out the show notes if you want to see some of the pictures.
- [30:18]
A
You probably don't, but you know, it's up to you. Next up, we're going to chat about a watch that we were dying to tell you about on the last edition of the show, no less, because we were talking about meteorites, we were talking about all kinds of cool stuff like that. And Formex had something up their sleeve, but it was embargoed. We don't break embargoes. We keep telling you that we're not Mizzy L and we're allowed to now talk about this. It's been an absolutely stellar year for the folks at Formex. Raphael and the crew there doing great things. Marcus obviously leading the charge, got to meet up with him in Dubai. He was there along with Raf, along with a few of the other folks from behind the scenes. And as well as celebrating this, that and the other 25 years of the brand itself, they were celebrating the move forward into ceramic technology, taking some of the learnings that they've got from perhaps the father, the parent company that is behind the scenes. We like to say Formex is a skunk works project of the Swiss industry. You get bang for buck like Noah's. You get all this technology ahead of the curve and at a price point as if they've moved the decimal place in your favor. So Dave, ceramic COSC certified meteorite dial. What are we talking about here?
- [31:21]
B
Well, this is formex for their 25th anniversary. It's coming towards the end, at the end of 2025. But they've brought a few of the things that they are famous for and have also released over the last year or so. So yes, Kosk certified calibre in there. They're doing more and more with ceramics and of course well known for what they can do with a meteorite. This is the Formex Essence Ceramica dark matter. A celebration or another celebration of their 25th anniversary. They've previously released the Essence Space Ghost. They've also had the full ceramic Essence, the Ceramica and the whole model family goes back to 2018. They of course have been using cost movements in there since that watch launched. It also features their patented case suspension system. In case of this model, it's a 41 millimeter size by a 11.2 millimeters in height. It uses the zirconium oxide ceramic. It brings in around 56 grams making it very very light. The dial, unlike from many brands which is on a metal backing plate, is a solid piece of meteorite. It's been darkened through a proprietary dark nickel electroplating process on there as well. But it's fully structural. The feet are soldered on directly to the dial itself. Then it's a precision milled date window in there at six o' clock clock right through of course that meteorite dial as well. You've got gunmetal indices and hands on there filled back with BGW9 Super Luminova which gives you lots of contrast against that dark kind of textured dial movement wise something a little different. It's The Soprod Newton P092, a cost certified automatic caliber that's been developed exclusively for use by Formx. It's not an in house movement, but it is a proprietary movement for formex. You get 44 hours of power reserve and of course you've got this full ceramic bracelet. They've got lots of vertical brushing and it's fitted with their all or relatively new micro adjustable ceramic clasp. It's got 5 millimeters of adjustment in 1.25 millimeter increments this watch is not limited edition, but it's limited in that there will only be 100 pieces made available per year. The first batch is orderable now, but deliveries will commence from mid January 2026. Price point wise, 4,150 Swiss francs. That's €4,590 or US$4,920. There is a couple of options. You can of course fit up the rubber straps and various textured straps that they offer as well, which can be ordered at the same time. My advice would be make sure you get it with that ceramic bracelet with the micro adjust clasp because it is a work of art. Ricky, I think this is so much a watch from Formex that is right in your wheelhouse. Everything about it. You like ceramic, you like shiny, you like micro adjust clasps, you like this modeler watch. You like meteorite dials, you like darker colors. Please tell me you've not found something on it that is annoying you.
- [34:08]
A
No, I have not. And I like Raph enough to invite him to my wedding, so can't say enough good things about those guys. And it's not just because Raph is a friend. There are many people in industry that we consider friends and when they do something that we don't like, again, it's opinion based. As long as it functions. Tell us time doesn't dig any wrist and draw blood. It's a watch. No. This one here is lovely. I am just so torn with so many releases from Form X. In the ceramic line, they had the skeleton, they had the purple, they had the gold color. Then they had all these different shades. They had the striated blue. They've had in previous iterations of the essence line of had the space coast that you reminded me of. I think there was Atlanta Watch company design a couple of years ago that I really liked. It's hard to whittle it down, down. And this almost sounds like the Hotlands problem that Cedric told us about. Where people buy the figure piece from the brand, the model that they sell the most of, the one they focus on in the case of Holland's, the only one they really do most of the time. And do you buy another one because it's got a different dial, it's got a different color. Well, with this here, it's been a very tough year to pin it down to decide on which one to go for. Would this be the one for me? I don't know, but it is absolutely stunning. The price point is just incredible. I cannot understand, cannot fathom how they managed to get away with this at such low cost. Because when you look at the competition out there that make ceramic watches, we've got Rado, but sometimes they may not be fully ceramic. You've got Bulgari, definitely fully ceramic, but also moving the price point way, way up there, moving the decimal point in the wrong direction. You've got the likes of Zenith, various other players, iwc, Hublot. Whenever ceramic or colored sapphire or anything like that comes into play, the price just multiplies astronomically. And with this being a meteorite dial, you would think astronomic price increases would be par for the course, but it definitely is not. So put your name down, get a hold of one of these. Don't worry about the fact you might have to wait a few weeks to get it on wrist. It will definitely be worth it. And as those January February blues come along, the credit card bills come in and it's time to try and burn off that Christmas excess around the midriff. Well, looking down at your wrist and seeing this there, that could be just the ticket. But it's time to talk about what we've been up to. And because I went first with the wrist check, I think I'll let Dave tell you what he's been up to.
- [36:17]
B
Recently we were both, both along with a third person, that being Simone of course went to an event with Omega through in Edinburgh. They have finally got the veil lifted from their all new Edinburgh boutique. It's taken a little while to get up and running and get it open. It was hoped to be open earlier in the year, but they finally have the doors open open prior to Christmas up in Moultrie's Walk, a beautiful new store over two levels with a pretty cool chilled out area in the upstairs zone of the shop where you've got sofas and other areas that you can relax and just enjoy everything that Omega have to offer. But as part of their opening we had a bit of a Christmas dinner down in the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland which was, well, it was very refined, unlike both myself and Ricky Simona, she does fall into the refined category, unlike the two of us. But yes, we had a lovely dinner there and got to see a bit of Edinburgh. It was dry, it wasn't raining, it wasn't even too cold. The trip home, I'll leave that for Ricky to tell you about his joyful voyage portage home. I got the train so that I could drink and my train got me in well before Ricky even got in I believe. And I left a lot later than he did. But anyway, that's one of the things that I've been up to. Outside of that, what else? Well, not a huge amount. Trying to chill out a little bit. I've actually for once in about eight or nine weeks not being ping ponging around the globe, going to different watch events and work orientation things that I have to attend. So I've been trying to just relax a little bit and enjoy myself. Of course getting ready for Christmas, which involves thinking long and hard about what I'm not going to get people for Christmas. But outside that, nope, not a whole lot for me. I am off to London in the next day or two for a little Omega related thing as well. But I can't talk about that yet because I've been sworn to secrecy and outside of that, well, no, Christmas will come, Christmas will go and David will be a happy guy again. So recognize Ricky, what have you been up to?
- [38:07]
A
Stuff that you just said? Pretty much, yeah. I went to that Omega thing, got an invite, Somebody we've known for a very long time, Marta, who was previously God, she was at Bell and Ross, she was at Bulgari and she is on the up and up. She's now leading the charge at Omega along with various other very cool people we got to meet on the night. But going across to Edinburgh Capital City, I crammed as much as I possibly could do into that. One day I went to see the missus at her work to have a look at some of the wares that she sells. Them then went across to the Christmas markets. Was not that impressed for Capital City this year with the Christmas markets. A little bit of the same old same old, but a little bit smaller, a little bit more expensive for everything that they had. And then it was across this new boutique that used to be. Well, the previous iteration of it was within the St. James's Quarter shopping arcade which in itself was lovely. But this new one is larger, more expansive, it's in a more prestigious area of the capital. When we walked in, we were greeted with all the things you would expect of a flagship store, perhaps in one of the bigger cities, London, Paris, New York, etc. It was phenomenal. The only thing I wasn't quite sure on was the staircase in the middle, a bit of a spiral number that if you were a little bit tippled with the free champagne, you may take a little bit of a trip downstairs rather quickly, a little bit faster than maybe you had imagined. Yes. And then we did go for din dins. It was phenomenal. Sat next to some very interesting people. Had a good chat. And because they weren't exactly watch aficionados, I had to explain how a watch podcast is something that comes out twice a week. People genuinely listen to, genuinely enjoy and get in touch with us about. And had to explain that watchmaking is still a thing after hundreds of years. And yes, even though it's an audio podcast, for the most part, we do manage to actually disseminate information to a listening audience that are quite up on things. And then I showed some YouTube videos to them and then they understood exactly what we're talking about. Yeah. And you were talking about the trip home. Well, you may have used the train, but I didn't rely on sat nav. I relied on Slavnav, which is a little bit like sat nav, but it's where the wife sitting next to you keeps telling you to ignore Google Maps because she knows better, and then induces an extra 30 minutes to the journey because you end up stuck in traffic in the city centre that Google asked you to avoid. Can't beat that. And I like to go into the back catalogue of movies. The festive period is a great time to rekindle memories of the past. Sitting down, watching this, that and the other on the television. Well, the two movies that I did decided this week to watch definitely were not of the festive spirit, although they were spirit related. Poltergeist, the original, the og, the one that had Steven Spielberg at the helm. I forgot just how good this was. This isn't one of these. Oh, there's a movie from 40 years ago Ricky's never watched and suddenly talks about. No, no, no. I've seen it many times before, but I wanted to watch it again. And I sat down with the Mona, watched it, loved it, thought it was very humorous, very well put together. Just the right blend of this, that and the other. And as I'm watching it on my OLED telly in 4K HDR, the effect, they didn't really stand up, the storytelling did. The acting was tremendous. Then at one point you could see these skeletons on screen. And I'm looking at them going, they're very detailed, they're very realistic. And I wondered what was going on. Then I remembered they actually got into a bit of trouble back in the day because it was cheaper. Rather than go Stan Winston and his creature creation, it was cheaper to go to different places and buy human remains and then use them in the film and don't tell the actors about it. Poltergeist. And that series has got a lot of questionable antics in the background. A lot of people met their demise quite soon after filming. So a bit of a strange one that, but the first movie, brilliant. The second one, little bit ropey. The effects, not the greatest, but it was a good laugh. And another good laugh before we move on to the next watch is I am in a group chat with all my new neighbors since moving into the new place and a few of them had been complaining about different creaking noises. New build houses, that's kind of what you get. And I put into the group chat that the reason for that is because our houses were built on an ancient burial site. That was a joke. Apparently certain members of my community did not believe that was a joke and went and researched it to try and find out what was going on. I only found out that recently, but it tickled me pink. Now, Dave, what are we going to talk about next?
- [42:12]
B
Vintage Horology, a brand out of the United Arab Emirates, more precisely out of the Siddiqi family of businesses. Now this brand and has been around for a couple of years now. It debuted back at the previous edition of Dubai Watch Week, that being back in 2023. But Lots has changed since then, lifting themselves really significantly up from their initial releases as well. And they have announced a new watch called the Strata, something that in my opinion is very sophisticated looking. It's the latest watch from the range. It's slim, it's lightweight, it's got 100 meters of water resistance. It has definitely got a cushion case design that would cast you back towards the 1970s 70s, but it isn't based on anything particular or specific from that era, but definitely imbibes feelings of the 1970s. A beautiful deep burgundy red dial on there as well, but very modern. It's a grade five titanium case and integrated bracelet on there as well. The brand itself was conceived by Mohamed Siddiqui, who is the chief executive of Ahmed Siddiqui holdings. And he wanted to bring a Emirati sensibility to Swiss watchmaking. Now this was one is definitely worth checking out. Go look at the show notes to get a feel for it. It's not what you expect. It's definitely at the premium end of things. Coming in around the 19,000 US dollar mark. That's 69,000 AED in local currency. But check the specs. It's a Vausher micro rotor movement in there. More precisely the VHM 3.01 micro rotor automatic movement, 48 hours of power reserve running at 3 hertz. The watch itself is 40 millimeters in diameter. Very similar size to the likes of the streamliner from Moser. It's 8.92 millimeters in height, so extremely slim as well of course that 3 millimeter micro rotor calibre from Voshy helping to bring that spec well in under 9 millimeters. Great looking watch. It's watch that you have to have in your hand, you have to appreciate it really by holding it. It does in some respects in the pictures look not exactly what you think you're going to get, but once you get it in hand, you feel the materials, you look at the specs of it. It is definitely priced at the lower end of what you would be expecting to pay for a watch with the specifications and the movement that this watch features. So let's see how that brand develops over the coming couple of years because within the last two years they've gone from being a relatively modestly priced quartz orientated with the odd automatic movement brand up into the more premium echelon area of independent watchmaking. I think this is a great looking watch. I don't know whether Ricky, you managed to get a little eyes on because it was available to see Back at Dubai Watch Week this year I caught.
- [44:53]
A
A brief look, although we didn't have an official appointment because we were doing so many things to do with Dubai Watch Week, the creative hubs, the horology forums, all the talks, all the interactive things we could do. It wasn't on my top agenda unfortunately, because then we had a quick glance through the glasses, we passed by and thought, oh, we need to have a look at this, we need to talk about this. Hence why it's in this episode of the show, not the one where we're actually in and about things at the event itself. I do like what they're doing. I love the fact that even though mentioned earlier, it has been a bit of a depressing year watch wise, with a lot of ups and downs across there in Dubai with the Siddiqi family, they are doing so much. They're putting on such a great event every two years and then obviously taking it on the road every other year. This year, the echoes, the murmurs, the aftershocks of Dubai Watch Week are still emanating through the entire watch industry and collector community. The messages that we've had from people that went across have never been before. It's astounding. Journalists, media folk, influencers, YouTube, podcasters and collectors, folks we bumped into, folks that hope to get there, managed to get there for a certain amount of time, if you can, in a couple of years, definitely make the trip it is so worth it. So much so we're going to hopefully bring the entire gang if we can. If we can get Miz across, if we can get Gav across, then Simona, Dave, myself, Barbara Palumbo, all the folks are involved with Scottish watches in front of the camera, behind the lens, even through to the writers group where a lot of the folks have already turned up. We'll try and make it happen and we'll see if we can get more content out in a bit more of a timely manner. It's just with back to back meetings, it's very, very difficult. Hence the recaps and the omnibus editions of the show that we put out over the last few weeks. One thing I forgot to say when I was watching Poltergeist with the missus, as we're watching it and she's noticing little Carol Ann watching the television, or the TV people as she calls it, and saying, they're here. Simona noticed that I'd used that as inspiration for making the Fire and Sweat Halloween video that she was a part of. And she turned around halfway through the movie and said to me, if I knew this is where this came from, I would not have done it. So, yeah, it just goes to show, you should keep certain things from your wife when you're involving her in videos that are of an under 18 variety. I'll just add that to the end. And as we finish up this episode of the show, we're going to talk about 60 Minutes. This is a TV show, if anybody is not aware, generally out in the States, although there are international versions of it here in the UK or more specifically in Scotland. I used to watch this in late night television back in the 80s, late 80s, early 90s, and it was always fascinating to see what they were going to talk about. And this time around, a little bit like vampires, they've sunk their teeth into Max Busser.
- [47:26]
B
Indeed. I don't think the 60 Minutes that Ricky was watching in late night television is actually the same 60 Minutes, but we'll let you believe that this 60 Minutes we're talking about is CBS's news and magazine podcast, which has been on the air for many, many years.
- [47:39]
A
It's the exact king. Same one, Dave. Yes.
- [47:41]
B
Is it the one where you'd have.
- [47:43]
A
The journalist sitting in front of the big stopwatch and you hear it going.
- [47:45]
B
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. As a teenager, your evening television late night television was definitely more sophisticated than many out there. But okay, we will believe you. We will believe you.
- [47:56]
A
I used to watch James Whale radio show. I used to watch the Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, all that jazz, Friday the 13th, the series the Best Favorite thing. And I managed to find some on YouTube. I think they've been deleted now because of copyright reasons. Was Alfred Hitchcock Presents, not the one from the 50s or 60s, but the 80s version of it where it was an anthology series that was really cool, well put together. Anyway, Dave, I digress.
- [48:18]
B
So you weren't watching the couple of free minutes of certain programs that are put out late at night?
- [48:23]
A
No, we didn't have the cable televisions or the satellite receivers back in my poverty stricken household.
- [48:29]
B
But anyway, yes, I carry on. CBS's news magazine, which has been on the air for many years, decided to to spotlight Swiss watchmaking. And they headed over to Valet de Joux to profile some of the top Swiss watchmakers doing a bit of a behind the scenes look at this industry. Now what they actually did was they spoke to some of the biggest names in the industry. Philippe Defore, Max Bussard, they looked at Patek Philippe, they looked at Richard Mille. And of course they also visited the manufacturer for Jaeger LeCoultre. Great program, definitely worth having a look at. It's unusual for mainstream media to get that deep into the weeds with regards to the specialist watch industry without maybe talking about the more obvious ones, your Rolexes or your Omegas, but actually getting under the skin of some of the bigger, more established and of course independent watchmakers out there as well. Definitely worthwhile if you can catch up on it. I'm sure the Internet will be your friend. Check out YouTube, check out all the places that you can usually find something that you shouldn't be but are able to watch. And I'm sure you will track it down. Check out the show notes Mziel may even be able to guide you, but he's in the United States so he can probably guide you to a official US Outlet where you're able to watch it. Whether you can do that internationally, that I'm afraid I cannot help you with. Although VPN might be your friend.
- [49:42]
A
I was about to say, Dave, you took the words right out of my mouth there. VPNs something I'm quite familiar with since July this year for no apparent reason. Yeah, VPNs can be. They're good for finding out pricing on different watches or if a watch sells out in your locale. But it's still available somewhere else in the world. You can have a look because our NES E2 Pearl Dash driver from Spinnaker sold out in the UK. Rapid fire. But you could still pick it up. There might even be a few left still. You could still pick it up in the States. So if you used your VPN provider to pretend you lived in America, then perhaps you could get your hands on one. Or you could go to Warren Wound or other places. But yeah, that is the end of a show. We've crammed a lot in here and we're going to tell you to go through our back catalog now if you've not already been there most recently buying and selling across the festive period. Maybe you're looking to bring in some pennies to spend on other people. Maybe maybe you're looking to buy something yourself. Keith from ebay was on talking about all kinds of good stuff that they've been up to, bringing out authenticity Guarantee a couple of years ago and expanding upon it across the globe. Plus lots of stuff when it comes to associated collectibles. Pokemon making a bit of a comeback, handbags, jewelry, all that good stuff. We had a lot of Dubai Watch week coverage. Two jam packed episodes detailing who we saw, what we tried on bringing that to you in an audible and visual format. So if you've not really seen the YouTube version of it but you you've listened to the audio, you can check the show notes, go across there, subscribe, watch, leave a comment and we've got more coming down the line. Anthony Peacock was on talking about working with Pirelli, lots of cool brands including Duckworth, Presstex and various other players in the micro brand sphere. Prior to that, Mark Wheeler, one of the Scottish watches writers, behind the scenes great guy. Christopher Ward, enthusiast, Omega enthusiast. He talks about his travels across to Switzerland to celebrate an anniversary with his wife that turned into lots of visits to museums, swatch, omega, patek, etc. And we had Dario from Dior Milano telling us all about building a brand in his early 20s that is now one of the biggest players in the world sphere when it comes to watches merging into fashion. Hot launch. Cedric was on talking about what they're up to. Prior to that, Brooklyn's watch company talking about four world record holders and what speed means to them. Tons and tons in their 700 plus episode back catalog. You just have to go through that yourself, see if something tickles your fancy in there and obviously stay tuned. Follow subscribe because we've got a lot more coming down the line.
- [51:59]
B
As Ricky said at the top of the show, if you're watching videos on YouTube, please do give us a follow. It definitely helps with things. If you want to communicate with us, no DMs to Instagram, please send email to infooottishwatches.co.uk, tell us something interesting. Tell us something not interesting. If it's interesting, we may consider talking about it or reading it out in a future episode. Other than that, check out the back catalogue, check out all of our channels, check out the website, see what the writers are writing about and. And get yourself ready for Christmas. Don't leave it to the 24th. That's my only other piece of advice outside of that. Ricky, I think it's time for us to depart.
- [52:31]
A
It is indeed. So thank you for listening. We'll catch you again soon.
- [52:34]
B
Take care, Sam.